I visited the Crimean peninsula in September 2019. I was photographing surrealistic scenes of everyday life in this 'newborn' state of Russia. Crimea has been formally incorporated by Russia 5 years ago after President Yanukovich was driven from power by violent protests. Russian forces seized control of the peninsula, and Russian-speaking majority voted to join Russia in a referendum that Ukraine and the West deem illegal. Since then the territory is a matter of political conflict. However, inland tourism is booming thanks to the highly developed infrastructure and other incentives. According to reports, more than 6 million tourists visited the peninsula during the last season.
